Casa Lopez Cuisine
by VerdeGooch
Summary: Santana, a 27 year old designer finds herself doubting the life she thought she wanted. Unsettled, she decides to take a break from everything and busy herself on the construction of the Casa Lopez Cuisine Restaurant, a family project that will bring her blonde distractions and perhaps the sense of belonging she lacks.
1. Prologue

"You're late, Brittany" …The man said all of the sudden and it took me a second to recognize he wasn't speaking to me but rather to someone, Brittany, behind me. He added "again" after a small pause I suppose was made to give strength to his statement. I felt compelled to turn around but thought against it, it was none of my business and being called on was embarrassing enough without witnesses.

"I know dad, I'm sorry" … Her voice made turning around even more tempting but I learned to master my impulses long before and managed to remain still. "She's a very sweet and smart girl you know" Again, it took me a second to realize his attention was back on me. He ran a hand through his hair and I smiled timidly, I really didn't know what to say but I knew he wasn't really speaking to me so my silence was just fitting.

"well, anyway Santana you're resume speaks very well of yourself but I don't work with resumes, I work with people so I'd like to give it a try with you, if a week has passed and you match your description I see no problem in giving you the job, how does that sound?" I sat there and listened closely, I learned to do that long time ago because people tend to speak a lot and say too little so you've got to really search for meaning, but this man seemed to speak a little and say a lot.

"I think that's fair" A million thoughts ran through my mind the seconds I was silent, I was used to that, there's always noise upstairs. Still, he was being careful because he knew better, but so did I.

"Alright, we have an agreement then". He smiled and shook my hand and I knew he was honest. Silence is useful like that. If you really listen people tell you who they really are in a brief job interview, and after ours I could tell Mr. Pierce was not one to smile when he didn´t feel like it. He seemed gentle and strong at the same time and his quiet façade did not hide the traffic in his head, so I knew that if he didn't ask why a 27 designer with two master degrees and recently employed by a research facility was looking for a job at a construction site, it wasn't because he hadn't noticed or because he didn't understand the implications of such actions. He had no questions, no rush to know things.

"We do Sir" I shook back his hand firmly and smiled just a little. I wanted him to know I understood his rules and they were more than fine with me. I just wanted a job to do. My personal business was back at home.

I left the building in a trance. Mr. Pierce had a way of sticking around. Through the following hours of the day I wandered around town getting familiar with the lanes that soon would become my friends. I observed people and found them in seconds fitting with Mr. Pierces cautions. This seemed like the place that could turn a man upside down if he got to comfortable.


	2. Chapter 1

The first thing I noticed as I approached the entrance was a motorcycle parked outside. I smiled despite myself, Puck was home. As the picture became clearer I saw the garage door open and decided to check on the men.

Just as expected Dad and Puck were very into whatever crazy idea one of them had come up with, for the looks of it, it had something to do with the major Lopez project being developed right now, it seemed we were all going to be a part of that one. Well, everyone except the one getting it as a surprise.

"Hey guys" I spoke into their current discussion, something about Lopez, food, ladies , wheels, diners and strings. I think they were trying to come up with a name. Before I could exclaim what an awful job they were doing my father called my attention.

"Lady lopez!" Puck snickered at the nickname my dad always called me against my protests. He always found it hilarious and I knew my response was equally funny to him. "Your highness", Dad insisted I always replied that way.

"How is it that every time I see you, you seem more and more beautiful?" I smiled into his greeting embrace. I don't think this man had ever one bad thing to say about anybody.

"So, dad's got you involved already huh?" I turned to puck and say hello the only way we knew how: bickering.

"I'm just a loyal peon" Puck did a mock reverence towards us.

"ah, well said son. Listen and learn lady Lopez. That's the charm of a real badass: being a softie on the inside" Dad stepped away and resumed his position near the working table.

"So, I just came back from the job interview" I leaned casually against one of the pillars holding the roof in place.

"And, how did it go?" Dad spoke without looking up from the task at hand. That was a thing about lopez's, we multitasked a lot.

"I don't think he was expecting me but he didn't seem unfazed with my presence. I start on monday" Puck seemed curious but remained quiet.

"That's just the Pierce free spirit of a man, Lady. He doesn't recognize royalty" I rolled my eyes at my father who was now looking right at me.

"Did you say anything to him?" I don´t think he did, but I wanted to be sure.

"Of course not honey. When we first made the deal I told him he could have complete autonomy regarding the construction. I'm a man of my word, he calls the shots".

"That's what I thought. I'm only asking for the job because I need a change of air and all I'm looking for is having a task to do without having to put a thought into it" Mom's going to be pissed.

"Well I'm sure you'll fit right in with the Pierces" Dad sent me an encouraging smile that made me believe everything he said. "Have you spoken to your mother?"

I winced a little and lowered my gaze "that's where I'm headed". Even puck gave me a sympathy look and I left before I could change my mind.

* * *

I walked into the study and found mom with her nose up into a research paper. This is as good as any mood.

"Hi mom" I sat across from her.

"oh, Hi sweetie, how are you?" she continued reading.

"I'm good. So listen, I gotta tell you something". Mom eyed me curiosly before setting her work down, I could tell by her expression she knew this was serious.

"Ok. I'm all ears. Are you breaking up with me?" I was so nervous I didn't even really pay attention to what she was saying.

"I..um what?" I'm sure she won't be making jokes in a minute.

"Sorry honey, it's just that you seem so tense and I'm sure there's no reason for that". Here we go.

"I'm quitting the research program". There was no other way to say it but to just blurt it out.

Mom stayed silent for a minute looking into my faces for any traces of humor. I wasn't kidding.

"Why?" came the reproachful response.

"I just.. don't know what I'm doing anymore" I wasn't really nervous about telling her I had made a decision. Sure, she woulnd't like it but she would respect it. The thing is I didn't have a better motive than that and I knew she was expecting stronger reasons.

"that's it?" she took of her glassed and I felt bad, she was done for the day. I had ruined her interest.

"I'm sorry mom. I've felt this way for a while now and I kept moving because of you, because I didn't want to let you down, but that's a mediocre motive. And the fact that I was able to go through the motions because I'm scared, because I don't really know how to stop, that's just pathethic and I want to be better than that, I know I am" It was hard for me to acknowledge such a personal failure, to be so lost.. but I really wanted her to understand.

"Santana where is this all coming from? you can't just abandon everything you are without a reason. What about all the hard work you've put into it? You have a privileged career. You're 27 years old and already a type three investigator. I was a type three investigator at 35!" her exasperation wasn't the most comforting reaction but I knew it was coming from a good place.

"But you´re a neuroscientist mom. You couldn't even begin research before 30". Please, please mom, just let it be.

"What's your plan?" I could see in her eyes the challenge; she was thinking 'alright, let's pretend I'm game. What's next?'

"I don't have a plan. I need time to figure out what I want mom. I'm taking a job in construction for the diner, after that I´ll deal with the decoration of the place and after that… I hope clarity comes along". I knew mom was freaking out and part of her stressed laid in the fact that I should be freaking out as well but seemed just dandy. I suppose the moment to worry about was after the project was done. Somehow dropping everything I knew to help my sister's dreams come true wasn't hard to handle. But after that if I still had no idea what to build for my own, then perhaps I would catch up with my mother's concerns. She was always playing ahead.

"I'm not okay with this Santana. I think it's a mistake. But I will trust you and I hope you figure things out soon" her stern face was a nice contrast for my father's smile. I think that's why they were such good parents. They would always paint the complete scenario for us, good and bad. No illusions of greatness or fears of failure, just the plain fact that actions had consequences.

"I know you do mom. When I know something for sure I'll let you know". I stood up and walked out of the room.

I was done explaining myself.

* * *

The next day I woke up and stared at the celling until Puck came knocking on my door, dragged me out and took me for a spin. I'm sure by now he knew everything from dad and mom and yet he didn't say a word. I was gratefully reminded of why I keep him around.

I avoided Laura all day long. I'm sure she knew by now too and wouldn't t share Puck's prudent attitude and I hadn't figured out what to tell her without blowing away the surprise.

Many things were uncertain, so many I didn't even want to think about them. But I had my family and I hoped things would be okay eventually. For now, my sister's diner was the only thing that mattered.


	3. Chapter 2

The next morning I got to the construction site early and ready to take this new experience for all it was worth. It was a little chilly already and 5 am looked more like night than morning. I stopped for a coffee on my way and still managed to be there before most of the crew arrived.

At 5:30 am Mr. Pierce gathered us all for some directions and introductions. Well, for introducing me to the team since I was the last to join. This people seemed to have been working together since always, It gave me a sense of family and I understood instantly why my father kept him so close and into his business.

"Alright, now that everyone knows the game plan I'd like you all to welcome Santana" he said as he motioned for me to step closer.

"Hi" I waved uncomfortably to the people around. On closer inspection I noticed that my prejudice of working with a majority of men was not met. The eyes staring at me were both male and female in almost the same quantity.

"On production status she will be assisting in the planation and development unit. On post-production status she will be handling design and decoration, so if she has anything to say it's probably a good idea to listen" Everyone nodded and went to start their respective tasks of the day, but before anyone went too far the lights of a cab made us look ahead as somebody got off and walked towards us.

"You're late. Again, Brittany" upon that sentence everyone discarded, as if they were used to this and rather not stay. I was glued to my spot, not only because I didn't really know where the P&D unit was but also because it was the second time I had heard that sentence and as the owner of Brittany's identity approached the light I couldn't help the curiosity.

"Santana… right?" I was called back from her by a tall blonde man.

"yeeah. Right, that's me" I smiled and took the hand he was extending.

"Hi, I'm Sam and I run the planation and development unit" Oh, right. He was the boss.

"Oh, hi. I was just wondering where that was" we stepped into the light and woah! Huge lips.

"Yeah, come this way and I'll show you how we work" Sam started walking towards the direction of the unit and before following him I turned to satisfy my curiosity but it was too late. Brittany was already retracting towards the morning darkness shield.

* * *

As the morning approached noon Sam showed me the whole construction site, where every unit was located, who ran it, what exactly did they have to do and finally where I would be working and what I would be doing.

"So basically I need you to write everything down". He had explained his job as the everything-and-nothing-doer.

"Mr. Pierce is the constructor, so he handles all the logistic and administrative stuff, I'm an architect and my job goes from supervising the material use and disposal to making sure everyone is following the same pattern and for that we have the 3D models designed in pre-production"

"Right, I remember those. You used them to pitch the idea in the first place to the client" I think he knew my dad was the client but I still refrained from sounding like Daddy's girl and amounting for some professionalism.

"That's right. I made those and our job is to make sure they are being recreated as such in the most efficient way and for that to happen we must be really organized and keep note of every move and decision made" He neither hesitated nor made any faces. I think we were going to get along just fine.

"Right know I need to go into a meeting with the head of units and the constructor so I would like you to walk around the site and do an inventory of tools, personnel and equipment. An evaluation of how everything was right before we officially started construction. It's called a Raw-material inventory" I noded in affirmation and Sam took off to his meeting.

After he was gone I took the inventory tablet he signaled before and began inspecting the place as I sipped my coffee. Walking around this place felt right.

It's quite contradictory how noise –after certain amount and continuity- becomes silence.

I wonder if I made a mistake when I was younger. Could I be an architect? It that what I really wanted?

I was disrupted of my self-torturing thoughts as I heard a pattern breaking sound that restored noise's abruption from silence induced calmness. Before I could assimilate the situation a warm body collapsed into me and my first instinct was to reach forward and stabilize myself and this new acquired weight. Everything in my hands flew in different directions and before I could register I was in the ground shielding myself and whoever was under me from the flying objects.

After a couple of seconds I looked up and saw no one was around. What the hell had just happened and where the fuck did it come from? A grunt brought my attention back down and I found a woman in pain.

"are you hurt?" I asked without moving and then realize maybe I was the one causing the pain. I quickly removed myself from above and sat on the floor next to her.

"No, I'm good. I'm sorry for bumping into you" Bumping!? That felt more like a tackle.

I looked around still trying to make sense of the situation but before I could analyze much I saw she was trying to stand up but her legs didn't seem to be strong enough to hold her up.

"Here let me…" Before I could finish and she could protest she stumbled again and fell, well, right into my lap. She grunted more in frustration than pain this time and I couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

"Hi there" I said chirpily. The amusement audible in my voice.

She looked at me for what I think was the first time, I'm sure I would have remember those eyes. I think she wanted to be annoyed and shove me off but her current position pretty much eliminated any possibility of her being rude or me being indifferent.

"I'm sorry" It felt like a really long time before she dropped her sight in defeat. I knew that behavior well; it was the inevitable loss of pride when one suddenly accepted that option was long gone.

I stayed in silence for a little while with her in my lap and staring somewhere in the distance, as if looking for something. I don't know why I didn't say anything though; it just felt like she needed some time.

"Do you need any help?" After a while I realized she probably wasn't going to ask for it and there was only so much time a stranger could sit in your lap before it turned really awkward. Especially if your boss happened to see it.

"Yeah" she didn't look at me when she said it and It barely made a sound. I felt a wave of compassion from an almost inaudible word and quickly grabbed her waist to slide her off me as carefully as I could. Once she was sitting next to me I rested on my knees and extended my arms towards her.

"I don't think you can put any weight into your legs so I'm gonna have to carry you over to one of the trucks" I warned her of my intentions before I touched her.

As I pulled her towards me I sensed her hesitation. "Is there a problem?" I really don't think she was in any position of arguing.

"It's just… are you sure you can support my weight?" she asked a little uneasy.

I scoffed in mock offence and she held up her hands in defense "well you are a little short"

"So? I'm strong" I crossed my arms and gave her a challenging look.

"Yeah… that's why you fell with me" she challenged back and I could almost swear there was a tentative smile forming.

"Well that's because you tackled me and I wasn't ready, so shut up" I gave her no room for argument and lifted her at the same time I stood up. She wasn't even that heavy.

"I'm sure my shoes weight more than you do" I said as I walked towards one of the trucks nearby to sit her on the open back door.

"Well, that's because you're wearing working boots and they weight a ton!" This sentence was almost whispered in my ear because she was still holding onto my neck as I sat her. I pulled away a little bit scared of the shiver that ran through my spine and replied nothing.

The surprise of my sudden movement was evident in her face but she said nothing. After a couple of seconds of me just standing there she thanked me for helping her and apologized again for the accident.

'I'm not leaving you here" I suddenly said and it caused as much surprise to me as it caused her.

"Um…no?" she asked somewhat confused

"Can you walk?" I asked instead of answering

"Not right know but I may in a while" I knew she was lying because her knee –which I suppose was the source of it all- seemed to have increasing inflammation.

"I think you need to see a doctor" I replied gesturing to her right knee. She flinched visibly at the mention of a doctor and crossed her arms.

"Well I don't. I just need to wait a while for my muscles to relax and then go home and rest".

"Do you want me to take you home?" I caught myself off guard with that one.

"I don't…." I'm pretty sure she was going to yell at me that she didn't need any help but was cut off by Sam's worried arrival.

"Santana is everything okay. I found your things lying on the floor"

"Oh right. Sorry I'll clean that up it's just that there was a little accident. Totally my fault" I sensed her discomfort upon his arrival and didn't know why so I just lied a little.

"Oh god. Brittany are you okay?!" He quickly made it by her side and grabbed her hand. She didn´t like that and shook him off. "I'm fine Sam"

"Come on, let's get you home" He seemed unfazed by her rejection and completely forgotten of my presence.

"That's not necessary. Santana is taking me" I looked up as I heard my name. I was? All this was very weird.

"Oh ok. Yeah that's good. I'll take care of everything. Take the rest of the day Santana and I'll see you tomorrow" He was a little bit hurt by her notable avoidance towards him but quickly recovered.

"Um…ok thanks. The inventory was almost done before I bumped into her so…"

"Don't worry about it. Just..get her home safe please" There was something heavy going on here and I sensed it was better to stay out of it.

"Yeah, sure. I'll take care of her" As I said this I made eye contact with her, for some reason I wanted her to feel she was safe with me.


	4. Chapter 3

I got home an hour after leaving the construction site. Brittany had made me drive just about two miles from it and then called a friend of hers to pick her up. She wanted me to leave her there but I waited and after a while a skinny athletic Asian looking guy named mike showed up.

"How bad is it?" was the first thing he asked upon arriving.

"Well, I won't be dancing anytime soon" She replied shortly and his face showed all the empathy he felt. "I'm sorry Britt" His lacking offer of support made it seem like there wasn't anything positive to say and he wasn't going to lie.

"Yeah, we should take this pitty party somewhere else though" that's when he looked up and noticed me.

"Oh right, sorry. Hi, I'm Mike" he extended his hand

"Hi Mike, my name is Santana" I shook his hand but barely made eye contact, their conversation still trying to make sense in my mind and all my focus on the uncomfortable feeling that emanated from Brittany's body.

"Nice to meet you Santana. I'll take it from here but thank you" Mike said as he helped Brittany up, her knee seemed to stop inflaming but remained week so she rested most of her weight on her left leg and Mike.

"You don't have to speak on my behalf Mike. Thank you Santana, I'm sorry for causing you any trouble"

Before I could say anything back she turned around and made an attempt to walk away which dragged Mike with her to prevent them from falling. It was the least graceful running intention but she pulled it off. I suppose the purpose of raced exits is to cut the time of action but Brittany's condition defeated the purpose and hence gave me enough time to have an impulse.

As they made it to the car I approached the passenger's window and motioned for her to roll it down.

"Can I see your phone?" She looked surprised by my question but handed it to me nevertheless. I typed my number in it and handed it back, she was silently questioning my action.

"I want you to have my number In case you need something. Take care guys" I turned around and walked back to my car and heard them drive away.

I went home and found dad reading in the living room.

"Hi there champ!"

"Hi dad" I took a seat next to him.

"Why are you home so early?" he put his book down and took my hand.

"Um... There was a little accident and I took the girl home" I rested my head on his shoulder, I felt confused and tired.

"is she okay?" he started drawing circles on my palm with his thumb.

"I don't know. It wasn't really a work related accident. She was already hurt, her knee gave up and she fell". There were many things I wanted to know about the situation I came from but found no energy to inquire in my head so instead I changed the subject and asked dad for my sister.

"She's in the craft kitchen with your mother" Silence followed.

"Oh…is mom still mad at me?" Dad signed and stood up "well, she's not happy but she'll deal with it. Come on, I'm hungry let's go get them so we can go out for dinner".

We ended up having dinner at a restaurant Laura used to work in.

"Do you miss this place?" I asked her while mom and Dad looked at their menus

"Do you miss the lab?" she asked me with a warm smile. I hadn't talked to her about it.

"Um no, not yet anyways"

"I don't think you will. I don't miss this place either. I think it's good to leave things when you're done with them" I really love my sister. I smiled at her and the waitress arrived to take our order. I looked up and found mom staring at me and although she wasn't sharing Laura's smile she looked thoughtful, I knew she must have heard us talking.

We had dinner in peaceful silence and Dad winked at me. Maybe things would be okay from now on.

That whole week was spent getting the raw material inventory registered and accounted for. All the construction material was submitted to a quick quality and safety validation which was also inventoried. Brittany didn't return to work and never made contact, Sam avoided the topic and I respected his wish to leave personal things personal, and I found in the job just what I was looking for, freedom from thought and orders to follow. On Friday Sam gave me the afternoon and the weekend off, he said to rest because on Monday we would start the tough and dirty work. I couldn't wait.

I Called Puck on my way home and told him to meet me there. I told mom, dad and Laura to clear their afternoons because we were having a BBQ. Laura called her best friend Rachel and she brought Kurt along. I told Puck to invite Finn because I know Rachel has the hots for him and although I'd never admit this aloud I kinda like her. Laura, Rachel and I set the food in the grill and the boys jumped the pool almost immediately, if that's not gender equality I don't know what is. Granted, Rachel complained more than helped, but still.

Mom and Dad had gone out to a work thing but said they would be back in time for dinner and sure enough arrived a little after five. They said hi and Dad asked me to go inside with him for a minute.

"What's up dad?"

"I just wanted to tell you Mr. Pierce and his wife are coming over"

"Oh… ok but what about Laura?" and Brittany?

"Well, she knows you're working with him on a construction but she doesn't need to know it's for her. The Pierce's know it's a surprise anyways so we should be safe". We went back outside and I felt nervous all of the sudden. He said Mr. Pierce and his wife, he never mentioned daughter.

The bell rang and dad went to get the door, I turned around and went to my bedroom without saying anything. All of the sudden I felt nervous. Once I got to my room I realized how silly it was to behave this way, she probably wasn't even here. I made my way out and as soon as I left my bedroom, there was daughter.

"Hi Santana" she was about to enter the bathroom across the hall.

"Hi" Inevitably I looked down at her knee and found it wrapped in some sort of orthopedic knee pad barely visible under her dress.

"It's better now" she brought my attention back up and that's good because I'm not sure I was looking at her knee anymore.

"That's good, I'm… I'm glad" we made brief eye contact and I left her to her business "I'll see you out there".

When she came back out I was setting the table, the boys where coming out of the pool and Rachel was very chirpily telling Laura all about this Jesse kid she had met and I began to question Finn's presence in the house, I looked over at him and found the same puzzled expression on his face. That's why I'm single, I remembered.

"Santana" puck called my attention

"Yeah?" I saw the mischievous look in his eyes and backed away from the table "Puck don't"

"Don't what?" he said as he approached me "I screamed while he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder "Puck put me down or I swear I'll…" I never finished that sentence.

I emerged with my head all wet and sticking to my face in different directions, I could hear everyone laughing and Puck looking all smug about his prank standing next to me.

"You're an ass!" I scolded at him and shoved him away

"Oh come on, you love it" He said as he threw one arm around my shoulders

"Bastard" I mumbled against his chest and hugged him, I did.

"All right kids, come out now food is served" mom called after us. As we approached the table I heard her mumble to the Pierces's "they'll be married someday". Puck got uncomfortable and pretended to help dad with the grill.

"I'm gonna go change" I avoided the topic as well. When I came back wearing shorts and a t-shirt everyone was eating already. There was a free spot next to Brittany and I took it.

We spent the rest of the night dinning in silence and making small conversation. Laura and Brittany seemed to hit it off which annoyed Rachel until Finn came around and she seemed to have forgotten about everything, including that Jesse kid. Kurt and Puck were talking about skin moisturizers and I kinda wanted to laugh but didn't.

A little after eight everybody said their good byes and left. Mom and Dad went to bed and Laura took Kurt home since Finn offered to take Rachel. They are too weird for me sometimes. Puck stayed and helped me clean up, and then we sat by the pool and drank beer.

We were silent for a while until he voiced his mind. "You know it's not like that anymore" it took me a second to catch up with his reasoning but only because I had blonde distractions in my mind.

"I know" I said as I rested my head on his shoulder. Puck and I had fooled around in the past, we had even attempted to be together for real a couple of times and I love him, I love him so very much that it took me a while to understand it wasn't the kind of love out of which comes a couple.

"Does it bother you?" we rarely talked about this, and I think this was the first time he was really questioning me about it.

"It used to, sometimes. But ... I've seen so many relationships gone wrong that I'm kind of glad"

"Yeah, plus this way we both get to score chicks at bars" I smiled fondly

"Yeah, ´cuz we do that every night" god, I love this man so much It becomes ironic.

"Well we used to and then you turned all existential and shit" he teased lightly my lately erratic behavior.

"I'm sorry about that, but I do think I'm getting closer to be fine again" I picked my head up and turned to look at him

"Does it have something to do with the new job?" He sipped his beer

"I don't know, it's just a feeling" I mimicked his action

"Well that's already an improvement" and I had to agree with him.

Later that night I laid in bed thinking about everything and not really paying attention to any thought in particular when my phone light up beside me.

_"You guys look more like brothers" _Read the message of an unknown number. I stared at it for a second and considered calling her out on the random comment but then got distracted by the fact that I had known right away who it was from and what she meant.

_"We are"_ I settled for answering instead. I waited for a couple of minutes before deciding she wasn't replying anything. I slowly drifted into sleep with a question mark in my mind that for the first time didn't take my sleep away.


End file.
